Overview: Black and white photography has been with us for a long time. It remains an almost magical and timeless medium. Even in this full-colour modern world, its popularity is undiminished, with those new to it being captivated by its simplicity and power. The Black & White Photography Guidebook was created with the simple aim of introducing you to the world of black and white photography, and as a result, we hope you will enjoy new levels of artistic scope.

This October we will be exhibiting a survey of 30 masterpieces by leading photographers of the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.
The exhibition will contain rare and collectable prints by some of the world’s most influential photographers. Each photograph has been chosen for its significant role in the history of the medium. With a strong emphasis on the rarity and quality of the print, the exhibition consists of important images by artists from Gustave le Gray to Richard Learoyd.

My Thoughts
You like taking photos, and wishing the time still.
But what I want is to capture the moment, and to remember the long-lasting feel.
I keep all photos well,
Reviving every moment, from time to time.
And I, was led to different stories, deeper and deeper, every time.
These photos might be rough, and incomplete, and faulty in your eyes.
But what I see, is something touching, something spiritual, something meaningful.
From the time YASHICA first captured the world in 1949, I knew,
Though it has no outstanding synopsis, the story will last long.
And you may have noticed, there is never a narrator, nor is it necessary…
The Silence of Story
It tells.

One hundred years ago three Japanese optical firms came together to form Nippon Kǀgaku. So started one of the world’s best-loved and most prestigious camera brands.

The new company soon won a reputation for its lenses and optical instruments. Then, with the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, it became the principal supplier of optical equipment to the Japanese army. When the war ended, with the help of the occupying Allied forces, production of civilian equipment was resumed. The Nikon Model I, launched in 1948, was a 35mm rangefinder camera. Externally, it showed a strong resemblance to the Contax II made in Germany in 1936. At 24x32mm, the film format was smaller than the conventional 24x36mm size, designed for more economy on 35mm film and to better match the 10x8in ratio used for photographic prints. The camera was supplied with a 50mm f/3.5 or f/2 Nikkor lens, a coupled rangefinder was built in and the focal plane shutter was speeded 1-1/500sec. Fewer than 800 were made before it evolved into the slightly better specified Nikon M.

The outbreak of the Korean War in 1950 brought photojournalists to the East, where they discovered the quality of Nikkor lenses when attached to their German Contax cameras. Nikon rangefinder models continued to evolve and in 1959 Nikon launched its first 35mm camera, the Nikon F.

Inventor of the instant camera and founder of Polaroid Edwin Land first introduced the Polaroid SX-70 to the world in 1972. In the years that have passed since its release, it has become known as Land’s greatest invention and the most iconic instant camera of all time.

To mark the 45th year anniversary of the SX-70, Impossible celebrates the enduring legacy of the world’s first folding, SLR, and truly instant camera – and how it changed the world of photography forever.

The SX-70 was the first camera to use Polaroid’s integral instant film formula, which developed photos the moment they left the camera. This original format film with its iconic frame transformed instant photography into a global icon of art, creativity and culture. It’s this enduring legacy that informs everything Impossible does, celebrating the art of instant photography and making real photos.

In 1972, Polaroid founder Edwin Land introduced the Polaroid SX-70 camera. It was the first ever folding, Single Lens Reflex (SLR), instant camera and also the first to use Polaroid’s integral instant film formula, which developed photos the moment they were shot. The Polaroid SX-70 quickly became a favored creative tool among artists and creatives such as Helmut Newton and Andy Warhol. 45 years later, it’s arguably the most iconic instant camera of all time.